Race Face Deus Cranks

Race Face has been producing quality products for the mountain bike world for a long time now, so I was pretty stoked to try out the new Deus crank set. At first look when I took them out of the box they reminded me of the old Turbine's. When you pick them up and look at them closely you will appreciate the detail Race Face puts into the cranks. The Deus cranks are the top of the line aluminum XC crank and have been beautifully machined to remove all non essential material. That said they are not the lightest cranks on the market weighting in at 850g. The chain rings are equally impressive with detailed machining and laser etching. The Non Drive side is attached to the axle and is looks quite sturdy but not too bulky. I was sent the white version and had to take care when working on the cranks with greasy hands.

Installation of the cranks was quite straight forward. The bottom bracket went in without incident. I really liked the self-extracting nut on the drive side, this made future removal a snap. All you need to install the cranks is an 8mm allen key. No special tools. Chain line was easy to adjust with the help of the provided spacers.  One note on installation, I tried to re-use the bikes existing Truvativ bottom bracket and it didn't work. They have different size axel diameters.

The mark of a great crank is when it goes unnoticed. You just ride your bike and shift when you want. There is no delay and no chain suck. Just pedal. That is how I found these cranks. After I put them on I never thought about them again. Shifting was great up or down with the help of the pinned and stepped rings and the chain never dropped while pedaling the greasy forests of Nelson Island. Chain suck was not an issue and there was no noticeable flex. Another design feature about the cranks that I liked was the fact I did not hit my heel on the outside of the drive-side arm. I have been having some issues with constantly striking the arm with my heal on my old Stylo cranks. With the Deus cranks this did not happen.

Opinion:
These are a great xc crank if you want to stick with aluminum cranks. Their weight holds them back if you’re looking too weight weenie your bike.

Plus:
The self extracting nut makes installation and removal a snap. Strong flex free pedaling. Easy chain line adjustment.

Minus:
They are not the lightest crank on the market and did not make my bike feel any lighter when I had to hike-a-bike. White cranks are a pain to keep clean.

Website: http://www.raceface.com

Rating: 4/5